Community Forums

Groveite · 01-20-2019, 11:09 AM

We are heading west from Baton Rouge to West Texas. Several years ago we did the same route and the pavement was terrible. That was with a fifth wheel and we bounced around a lot! Has it improved or should we detour around that section?

Old-Biscuit · 01-20-2019, 11:22 AM

I-10 from Jacksonville Fl to Los Angeles CA is a rough road with sections worst then others
Louisiana/Texas section and Eastern side of CA are some of the worst

Worn out/beat up/under maintained Interstate SYSTEM is just one reason we travel secondary/ back roads as MUCH as possible.

Too bad we don't have a 'fund' that could be used for Roadway Infrastructure!

Isaac-1 · 01-20-2019, 11:38 AM

Depending on how far out into west Texas you are going you may be better off taking I-49 up to I-20 then I-20 out west. I-10 is a mess in western Louisiana and east Texas, on top of that they recently started construction on the I-210 bypass around Lake Charles, which is down to 1 lane in places, leaving you with the steep I-10 Calcasuieu river bridge if you are going to avoid the construction.

aknavy · 01-20-2019, 11:46 AM

That section of I10 sucks, but there's not really a convenient alternative.

jayc2640 · 01-21-2019, 08:21 AM

I drove from Columbus, TX to Lafayette, LA yesterday. The only bad sections of road that we ran across was the last 3 or 4 miles in Texas before we hit the Louisiana line and there was about 10-15 miles in Louisiana where they are working on bridges and overpasses where they have chewed the blacktop off for about 50 yds at each bridge/overpass. Other than that, the roads were great.

grindstone01 · 01-21-2019, 08:27 AM

You are going to have to find the speed that works best for your rig on I-10. For me it was 50 mph which seemed the smoothest ride for my 61' length. The road expansion joints will result in a harmonic bounce that affects rigs differently based on length. If you need to go slow, put your emergency flashers on!

Jon_C · 01-21-2019, 09:02 AM

I live within 25 miles of TX LA Line and have driven my rig on it. I certainly would not go another route to avoid it unless you want to see some of the real country not just the interstate Last time thru the westbound TX lanes were on the new highway in orange tx, eastbound is still mostly on old but ive driven on worse, just take speed your comfortable with its really not that long of a stretch of terrible road anymore. Most of i-10 in south western LA west of Lake Charles both directions is new blacktop smooth as silk. Used to be a roller coaster.

USMCRET · 01-26-2019, 05:38 PM

I drove that stretch two days ago. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be based on what I have read here and other places. It’s not a great road, but it could be worse.

Oct Prime · 01-26-2019, 05:43 PM

There is still a lot of work being done on I 10 in Orange. Expect delays there.
There are also lots of concrete barricades west of Beaumont.

USMCRET · 01-26-2019, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oct Prime

There is still a lot of work being done on I 10 in Orange. Expect delays there.
There are also lots of concrete barricades west of Beaumont.

I forgot about those jersey barriers. They are right on what would be the white line on the edge of the road. There were a few white knuckle moments there for me, especially when a semi was in the left lane. Our mirrors became close friends.

Groveite · 01-26-2019, 07:21 PM

Well we made the trip and there were a few bad spots but not as bad a road as we had several years ago. Clearly an effort is being made to repair the road and where that has been completed it is a good job! Those Jersey barriers are a bit intimidating but no mishaps so...All in all a good trip!